Last November, the political and social life of Chile was rocked by the publication of an audio conversation between Luis Hermosilla, one of the most powerful lawyers in the country, who had served as an advisor to ministers and politicians during multiple administrations, businessman Daniel Sauer and another attorney. In the audio, the participants discuss openly and explicitly how to bribe public officials from the Internal Revenue Service and Financial Market Commission.

The audio, published by Report for the World partner newsroom CIPER, unleashed the indignation of a country that has cultivated an image of good governance across Latin America, prompting an investigation by the Public Ministry. But that was just the start of the story.

The revelations from the audios, along with the WhatsApp conversations Hermosilla had saved in his phone when the Public Ministry seized it, led CIPER into a months-long investigation that mapped the network of influence and power that Hermosilla and others cultivated inside the Chilean government.

Report for the World corps member Catalina Olate has been a key part of the CIPER investigative team throughout this process, tracking large amounts of money transferred from Hermosilla’s account into former Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick’s accounts; reporting on the attorney’s role in the defense of former president Sebastián Piñera in a case involving the sale of a mining company mentioned in the Pandora Papers scandal; as well as providing context and explanations to the public about the case.

Early this month Hermosilla and his associates were formally charged with tax crimes, bribery and money laundering, opening a new chapter in a case that promises more revelations.

We spoke with Olate recently to understand more about the case and hear her insights into the investigative challenges they faced, from her perspective as an early career journalist working on a high profile story.

Olate explained the origin of the case and why is it important:

One of the key elements of CIPER’s investigation, said Olate, is that they adopted a wide scope for the case and didn’t limit themselves to report on what is being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office or what is considered as a crime, instead covering everything that they consider to be of public interest, particularly the parts that involve public figures like Supreme Court ministers or former government ministers. This approach has led to the publication of more than 36 stories about the case.

In order to produce these stories, the CIPER team had to be rigorous with their approach to sources and to the documents they obtained, not an easy task when there is an official investigation happening at the same time and when the original files had to be thoroughly vetted for authenticity. Olate explains some of the biggest challenges they faced:

Olate is in her second year as a corps member and CIPER has been her first experience as an investigative reporter, an opportunity that has allowed her to grow as a journalist. She reflected on what she has learned from working on a case of this magnitude and shared her advice for other early-career reporters who are starting at investigative newsrooms: